The Grupo Regal Spanish hake longline fishery will be assessed against the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard for sustainable and well managed fisheries. This is the first Spanish fishery to seek MSC certification and the first longline hake fishery to enter the MSC programme. If the aessement become successful hake products from the fishery will be eligible to bear the blue MSC ecolabel. The MSC’s blue ecolabel gives consumers a quick and easy way to identify the best environmental choice in seafood.
According to Grupo Regal they are willing to share the certificate with other Spanish licensed longliners targeting the European northern hake stock. If the fishery is certified, Spanish-licensed vessels operating in the area, will also be able to display the MSC logo on their catch subject to negotiations on joining the certificate with Grupo Regal. MSC said that an independent evaluation of the Spanish hake longline fishery will be conducted by a team of experts who will examine the status of the fish stock, the impact fishing has on the marine environment and the effectiveness of the fishery management system.
The Spanish hake fishery dates back to the mid-20th century. The EU northern hake stock is currently targeted by approximately 50 Spanish longliners. About 98 percnet of their total production is sold in the domestic market, while a further 2 percent is exported to France. Juan Antonio Regal, Managing Director, said that MSC programme is chosen because of its international renown, its credibility and its science-based and rigorous methodology for the certification of well-managed and sustainable wild-capture fisheries.
He added that the fishery wanted to develop sustainable seafood market for future generations. Nicolas Guichoux, MSC European regional director, said that the entry of the Spanish hake longline fleet in the programme is another milestone for the MSC in southern Europe and Spain in particular. He added that there is growing demand for independently certified sustainable hake around the world and Grupo Regal’s entry into full assessment brings the total number of hake fisheries now engaged in the MSC programme to 7. I wish them all the best for this assessment and hope they will be successful in getting their certification.
